VU named top 3 in the state in tech innovation award

Victoria University (VU) has been named among the top three finalists in the 2021 iAwards for the Education & Student Solution of the Year category.

Run by the Australian Information Industry Association, the iAwards recognise excellence in Australian tech innovation to create positive change. It is Australia’s longest running and most broadly scoped innovation recognition program, promoting excellence in the Australian digital ecosystem from the likes of Google Maps, Atlassian and Wotif.

VU’s selection for the Victorian division of the Education & Student Solution of the Year category celebrates the University’s use of technology to support better experiences and outcomes for students by offering unique insights into teacher and student performance for every unit taught under the VU Block Model.

Health dashboard a winner 

The nominated project, VU’s Unit Health Dashboard, was created in response to the introduction of VU’s revolutionary VU Block Model of teaching to create a learning experienced focused on student success and retention.

VU Block Model has revolutionised learning and teaching, offering new opportunities for rapid unit improvement.

In response to this innovation, the Unit Health Dashboard offers a quick, holistic view of unit performance to enhance student success and retention, improve course content and support teachers’ continuous development.

VU’s Data Insights team worked with VU IT Services to combine a series of previously disconnected data sources into one online portal, creating a single source of truth for information required in unit review processes.

These offer teachers deeper insights and opportunities to monitor unit performance and student engagement, better identify and support poorly performing students and demographics, as well as offer enhancement opportunities for high-performing students.

Dashboard provides comprehensive data

The Dashboard offers a 360 degree view of each unit, comprising a wide range of comprehensive information such as:

• demographic makeup and performance differences according to different demographic factors
• feedback and evaluations provided by students who have undertaken the unit
• grade distribution and grade trends over time
• comparison of other deliveries of the same unit in different VU Block Model study blocks.